Mads Andersen joins Luton Town by Matty Hugill

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After four years at Barnsley, Mads Andersen has today joined Premier League outfit Luton Town for a fee believed to be in the region of £3million.

Following Barnsley’s heartbreaking defeat to Sheffield Wednesday at Wembley, the Reds knew they would be resigned to losing some of their key players. However, the good news is that this one has been done early so the Reds can use the money from Andersen to sign some quality players throughout the remainder of the transfer window and aim to win promotion back to the Championship.

In June 2019, Barnsley announced the signing of Andersen from Danish Superliga side AC Horsens on a four-year contract, with the option of a fifth year in the club’s favour.

His debut was certainly a memorable one, as he made two goal-line clearances in Barnsley’s 1-0 win over Fulham at Oakwell on opening day. However, unfortunately for the central defender, the majority of the first season was one to forget. As he was adjusting to English football, and still only 21/22 years of age, he made more mistakes than he would like to remember, leading to Barnsley fans booing him at times.

Following the restart of the 2019/20 season after lockdown due to COVID-19, the Dane came back a different player, as he was solid in the heart of the defence next to the experienced Michael Sollbauer. It became apparent that experience next to him was a huge benefit to Andersen, as the Danish man helped Barnsley secure Championship survival on the last day at Brentford.

The following season was much better overall for Andersen, as he was a key part of the Barnsley side that reached the Championship play-offs and had serious ambitions of reaching the Premier League. The Dane played every single minute during this campaign, and especially formed a great partnership with Michal Helik as the Reds finished 5th under Valerien Ismael, but just fell short to Swansea in the play-off semi-finals.

The following season was one to forget for Barnsley, as they finished bottom of the league and were inevitably relegated with just 30 points. However, Andersen was solid for the large part despite not making an appearance until October due to injury. He scored one goal in 28 appearances, with that goal coming in a 3-2 victory over Middlesbrough.

The following season saw a few of Barnsley’s key players depart the club to pursue Championship moves, however, Andersen stayed loyal to the club. His loyalty to Barnsley did not go unnoticed. He was made the club captain for the 2022/23 season, as the club attempted to win promotion at the first attempt under new manager Michael Duff.

Andersen made 44 appearances in League One, scoring two goals as Barnsley finished 4th in the league and finished in the play-offs, with the Danish man winning Barnsley’s player of the season award. Despite picking up a knock that kept him out of the last two games, the Dane came back in for the first leg of the play-offs away at Bolton Wanderers, proving pivotal as Barnsley beat the Trotters 2-1 on aggregate to go through to Wembley.

As the game at Wembley came around, Andersen put in a colossal performance against South Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Wednesday as the Reds held out for approximately 75 minutes with ten men, however, the game ended in heartbreak as Josh Windass scored in the 123rd minute to break Barnsley hearts and send the Owls to the Championship, meaning the Reds would have to do it all again to try and get back to the Championship.

Following the Wembley defeat, as aforementioned, Barnsley knew they were bound to lose some key personnel. Having already lost manager Duff to Swansea, Andersen decided that this would be the right move in his career, as he links up with former Barnsley teammates Cauley Woodrow and Carlton Morris following Luton’s promotion to the Premier League.

After six goals in 175 appearances in a Barnsley shirt, Andersen leaves the club with nothing but the best wishes from everyone at Barnsley. Having overcome multiple challenges such as homesickness and a shaky start at the club, Andersen leaves Barnsley as nothing short of a club legend.